When you're palnning a trip outdoors, you may confused by some questions about the travel line, such as one of our customer: "My wife and I have been recommended to see Niagara Falls in a day trip. Should I go with Niagara Falls tours and get the whole package (flights, lunch, tour, etc.) or should I book my own flights, hire car and book a more comprehensive tour (8hrs or so). We really want to do the Maid of the Mist, but have been told the scenic caves 'Journey behind the Falls' is awesome too. None of the day tours from NYC seem to include both. Are there some advice about the New York to Niagara Falls day trip?"

Advice and answer by Globerouter.com:

Niagara Falls is rather far from NYC, and I would not do it for a day trip. At least spend one night there. Maid of the Mist is a must. I really enjoyed the Cave of the Winds walk, which is on the US side. The Journey Behind the Falls is good, too, but on the Canadian side.

In order to do a proper 'Day Trip' to Niagara Falls it is recommended to stay overnight - it's a long way to NF from NYC - do you have 2 days to devote to this endeavor? If you're looking to do both and can't find an operator that offers both, don't see why you don't just plan it out yourself. But the convenience there is that it's all planned out for you! Some love organized tours.Others won't go near them! Personal call and what you're comfortable with .. it all boils down to your travel style..

And you'll need to confirm whether this pass is from the Canadian or US side and whether these attractions are open in October. Maid of the Mist closes on October 24 so if you're going after this date, it won't be open. You might also want to research what is involved in crossing the border, as I personally believe the Canadian side offers the better views.

Will you have 3 full days, or do they include travel days? Besides Niagara Falls, you should also scratch the Wax Museum. For hotels, the experts will need to know how many you are, how many beds you'll need. SOL and Ellis Island will take 1/2 day unless you just want to sail past for pictures. John's Pizzeria is one block from Times Square. The Museum of Natural History will take several hours but you can combine it with Central Park.

In case you haven't figured it out, Niagara Falls is nowhere near New York City. Scratch that off your list. (I would scratch the wax museum, too, since it has nothing to do with New York City. It's a London thing.)

The rest of this is doable in three days as long as you don't want to do anything else. There is no one central point to all of these things, though, so you should focus on finding the best hotel you can afford that's near a subway station. The subway will get you all around the city to see all of these things.

Attraction passes aren't really a good value here. There's an FAQ on the right hand side of your screen that covers the different attraction passes. None of them include transportation - you'll want Metrocards for that.

The best cheesecake is at Junior's. They have a branch in Grand Central Terminal, so you can combine those two. There is no one best pizza place, so you'll just have to pick where you want to go. (Don't go to Grimaldi's, since you only have three days. It's not worth it, anyway. John's is better.)

If you're not interested in Ellis Island, then plan to take a harbor cruise that takes you to the base of the Statue of Liberty, instead of the longer cruise that takes you TO the island. The security lines for that one will take all day, and the statue is closed, so you can't go inside.